By Joshua Mason
Daily Bruin Staff
Before the news leaked out on Wednesday, DeShaun Foster’s
Heisman star was already looking gloomy. Now, only two weeks since
the star running back was eyed as the front-runner for the trophy,
any shot at a last chance run seem to have slipped out of his
hands.
Foster’s soft demeanor made him a mid-season favorite of
the national media, and it was his patented stiff-arm and
tackle-breaking toughness that solidified his status as the
catalyst of a UCLA team that started the season with an impressive
6-0 record.
Any dreams of the Heisman, however, and perhaps even the Doak
Walker Award (given to the nation’s best running back), were
fumbled away after midweek allegations surfaced about a possible
“extra benefits” violation that Foster took part
in.
Foster was still very much alive in a tight Heisman race before
he was given a one-game suspension, but if history is any
indicator, the charges will likely blemish Foster’s run at
the Downtown Athletic Club.
In 1999, Florida State’s Peter Warrick was largely
considered the No. 1 Heisman candidate, until charges were brought
in November about his receiving discounts at a local department
store, which violated the same “extra benefits” rule
that Foster now faces. Warrick received a one-game suspension,
still finished with top-tier numbers, but was wholly excluded in
the final Heisman voting, finishing sixth.
The same will likely happen to Foster, whose Heisman stock was
already falling before the suspension. Not only did his team lose
twice, which will be an important factor in this year’s race,
but Foster also had a habit of fumbling on key plays in front of
national audiences. Against Ohio State, Foster fumbled four times,
and in last week’s loss at Pullman, a Foster fumble was
returned 73 yards for the decisive touchdown.
With Foster’s fall from grace, there remain few candidates
at the running back position that will garner any Heisman buzz.
Foster was clearly the leading running back in the race, after a
season-ending ACL injury to Virginia Tech’s Lee Suggs and
disappointing starts by Oregon State’s Ken Simonton and
Northwestern’s Damien Anderson knocked out the other three
pre-season contenders.
The Heisman trophy’s fate will likely fall in the hands of
the quarterbacks, namely Eric Crouch of Nebraska, Ken Dorsey of
Miami, Joey Harrington of Oregon and Rex Grossman of Florida.
The one consolation for Foster, Warrick went on to be a top-four
pick in the NFL draft that year.